Two Feathers
by K.T. Winters
Summary: The world is cruel and wicked and dangerous. There are monsters in this world that are set out only to do you harm. At the same time, there are sinners in the world. Any sinner, young or old must be punished, and I will be the judge, jury and executioner.


Night hung over the sky like a blanket. No light illuminated the town of Prontera save for the dim moonlight and the twinkling of the stars above. Cobblestone streets and old, worn steps were bathed in a pale glow of light, and the houses, small, clustered together held no light of its own except for some with their fireplaces still burning. In the midst of the twilight, nothing stirred and nothing awoke. In the darkness of the night, no one dared to go out.

Except for one.

Except for the evilness that dared to walk at night.

Margaretha Solrin, High Priestess of Prontera and leader of the Prontera Sanctuary, looked out of her horse drawn carriage, into the black dimness of the night. There was barely enough light to see, true, but through her holy abilities, her devotion to God, she could sense the darkness that wandered about in the dark, away from her.

'Such pathetic creatures,' she thought. 'Rats, filthy rats, rummaging through the streets, muddying the world with their dirty paws.' She could see them; they could not hide from her, she knew, and as she senses them acts as an even greater reason as to why she was out at night like this.

She was tired, and as she looked out from her carriage, she wished that she could just destroy all the evil in the world. It would save her so much trouble. Instead, she has to settle with just going with her rounds at night, searching for delinquents and troublemakers and punishing them for their actions.

Just then, a figure appeared from a distance on a tall horse. A man, large and sturdy and strong. His face, dimly lighted by the moon, showed the tired look on his face, and from the elaborate armor and the great sword he held at his side, he was a man of great importance. He was accompanied by two other men, flanked side by side and carrying what looks like two bodies, bound and gagged behind them.

"Your Eminence," he said. Margaretha knew who it was.

"Wait," she called to the driver, "Stop here."

As the steady moving of the carriage slowed to a stop, Margaretha stepped out. Her smooth, red garment covered her long, slim legs delicately, her pale blue eyes looking like ice, piercing the night. She flipped strands of her blond hair away from her face. Along with her status as a High Priest, she was also quite popular talk amongst young men, with her striking features and her beautiful curves. She smiled as the man politely looked away, a slight blush on his face as he saw her.

"What is it, Gaston?" she said in a slightly annoyed voice. "Have you caught any sinners?"

"We have two here now, Your Eminence." Gaston's voice was gruff, and he spoke in a low voice, as if not to disturb anything as he spoke.

"Take him to me." Margaretha stood there impatiently. She was tired, and she was disgusted at the sight of all the dirty vices in the world, but she knew that someone had to clean up the mess, and she knew that only she was the only one up for the job.

Gaston called to his men sharply, and they quickly brought the bound prisoners forward. It was a young girl, possibly no more than 20 years old. Her hair was disheveled, and her face, stricken with fear and terror had cuts and bruises and seemed quite dirty. One of Gaston's men untied the gag to allow her to speak.

"What is your name?" Margaretha said.

"T-Tabitha, Your Eminence." Was the meek reply.

"Tabitha...What is your crime, Tabitha?"

There was no answer.

"She was caught sneaking out of her house to meet this man," said Gaston, signaling his men to bring out the other prisoner, a man a little older than Tabitha. "She is married, Your Eminence, but this man is not her husband."

"I see." Was the reply. There was a long silence afterward. "You committed an act of adultery, Tabitha."

"What? N-no! I didn't-- I-I wasn't--"

"Do you know adultery is a form of lust, one of the seven deadly sins, where you shall be forever damned in Hell, Tabitha?" Margaretha kept her face stone, although deep down inside, she despised the filthy rat she saw before her.

There was no answer from the girl but tears and sobs and the repeating cries that she had done nothing wrong. Impatiently, Margaretha turned to the young man, who stood just as afraid of her as the young girl was.

"Do you, young man, know what the penalty is for this obscene act of sin?" She said.

The young man whimpered, not wanting to answer. "Please. Please, Your Eminence, please have mercy on us."

"Only God can have mercy on sinners like you." The High Priestess said, turning away from the two. She returned to the carriage behind her and pulled out a slim, shining scale. Each plate was coated in gold, and it shone brilliantly in the night. She held it up to the young man and to the girl with her one hand, and in the other, held two feathers, one white and one black.

"Only God can judge whether you can be forgiven or not." She held out one feather, the pure white feather, and placed it on one of the plates on the scales. She still held the other feather, a black one, in her other hand.

"This feather," she said, waving it around the two figures. "Absorbs all of your sins, and places it in judgment of God. If He finds you worthy, then the white feather shall be the heaviest and you shall be let free. But if the black feather, the feather of your sins, is heavier, then you shall be punished under the name of God."

With her delicate fingers, she placed the black feather onto the plate and waited. As the plates tipped and bobbed in either way, everyone held their breath. Tabitha and the young man beside her, held still by their captors, begged quietly, staring intently at the white feather and hoping that it would tip the scale. Soon, slowly, and then faster, the scales began to tip. Tabitha, with her eyes wide in anxiety, began to smile. The young man beside breathed a sigh of relief as well.

"Thank the Lord," whispered Tabitha, her smile growing bigger and bigger.

Margaretha snatched the scale away with a scowl, and placed them back in the carriage. She turned back to the couple, whom Gaston had already begun to untie their bounds, and glared at them intently.

"What are you doing?" She said.

"Letting them go," was the reply. "You said that if the white feather was heavier, then they can be let free--"

"I know what I said." Margaretha snapped. With an exasperated sigh, she ran her fingers through her blond hair, thinking on what to do with the couple. True, the scales did show that they should be let free, and so they should be allowed free now.

But it wasn't right. It just wasn't right.

It was one thing to lose even though she knew she was right, but to free a person she_ knew_ was a criminal? To allow a sinner to walk the earth, free? No. No, goodness, no. There was no way she'd let some scumbag filth like them go free. Not a chance.

"Take them to the dungeon," Margaretha said, "And execute them for their crimes."

Both Tabitha and the young man shouted in horror, screaming for forgiveness, begging for mercy, claiming that God's judgment proved that they were innocent. Even the guards and Gaston looked surprised.

"I'm sorry, Your Eminence?" Said Gaston. "You want me to _execute_ them? For what crime?"

"Didn't you say it yourself? For committing adultery... And for witchcraft." Replied Margaretha as she turned to the carriage again. Her work was done here.

"Witchcraft?"

"Yes, for manipulating the scales to do their bidding. For using the feather and tipping the scales so they can look innocent. Unrighteous freedom in the name of God is unforgivable. Take them away."

She was already seated in her carriage and ready to leave when the young man shouted before he was gagged and taken away.

"Killing innocent people in the name of God is unforgivable as well, Your Eminence!" He shouted, but one of the men struck him and dragged him away before he said anything else.

Margaretha laughed as the carriage drove away from the scene, already beginning to head to the Prontera Sanctuary. 'Killing innocent people,' she thought as she laughed. 'Only I can determine who's innocent or not.'

The world is teeming with people who've sold their souls to the Devil, and have many manipulative powers that even she cannot comprehend. The best that she can do, however, is to be ready when they come, and destroy them before they can do any more harm.

'The world is full of disgusting creatures,' she thought to herself. 'And only I can vanquish them all.'


End file.
